Restaurant review: Carmen's is a comfortable neighborhood eatery

Server Linda Sherlock with a special salad with roasted peppers, fresh… (MICHAEL KUBEL, THE MORNING…)

June 13, 2013|By Susan Gottshall, Special to The Morning Call

Catasauqua's Carmen's Italian Restaurant, reinvented with new decor and an expanded menu under new ownership, remains a prototype of the quintessential neighborhood Italian eatery.

Now owned by Sara Denker with Scott Barone as manager, comfortable, casual Carmen's serves up good food — American-style sandwiches as well as pasta and pizza — available for take out and delivery, too (within 5-mile radius).

The restaurant makes its home in an old stone building with a maze of small rooms hinting at a previous life that must have included time as a residence. Dark, original-looking wood trim balances newly painted pumpkin orange walls; a funky crystal chandelier and interior stone wall in one dining room add contrast and interest.

Strung with multicolored lights, the patio sends an alfresco welcome, and tables dressed with white cloths protected by glass toppers show Carmen's is more than a pizzeria.

The large menu features much more than pizza, calzone and stromboli. Homemade lasagna, seafood cioppino, fettuccine carbonara and chicken parmigiano are just a few of the Italian dinners offered. Soup, salad, subs, sandwiches and burgers round out the menu.

Crab cakes vodka ($8.99) were easily shared as a starter. The homemade cakes, sauteed with artichokes and roasted red peppers, were served in pink vodka sauce loaded with flavor, so much so that it overpowered the crab. The sauce was super swept off the plate with a piece of crusty fine garlic bread.

Dinner salads included with entrees were standard fare. A small Gorgonzola salad (an evening special, $4) was full of taste and texture: lettuce, dried cranberries, tomatoes, onions and crushed walnuts, perfect counterpoint to the pungent cheese.

A plateful of homemade lasagna ($11.95) did not disappoint. Tender noodles layered with meat sauce and ricotta, Romano and mozzarella absorbed all that flavor like sponges.

Another comfort classic, spaghetti with meatballs ($9.95), was as good as Nonna would make. Long thin ropes of pasta with complex sauce and compact rounds of ground beef were fine fare fit for kids and adults alike.

Carmen's tiramisu ($4.95), made on site, was stellar. In the restaurant's rendition, two layers of sponge-style cake, sopping with coffee-flavored liquid, were layered with whipped-cream like frosting. Light, yet brimming with flavor, this tiramisu was excellent.

Eaten in, taken out or delivered, Carmen's fare keeps the neighborhood fed with fast-food style sandwiches, pizza and Italian standards that satisfy more than hunger. It's familiar food often filled with family memories, and it tastes good too, which is the frosting on the tiramisu.

Dinner for two totaled $55.36, including tax and tip.

Susan Gottshall is a freelance restaurant reviewer for Go Guide. Gottshall attempts to remain anonymous during restaurant visits. All meals are paid for by The Morning Call.